If the world was going to disappear tomorrow, what would you do today?
The many-world theory...
The many-world theory...
The Boundary City Chronicles: A Multiverse Detective Quest
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1st Possibility
- Location
- secret base
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If the world was going to disappear tomorrow, what would you do today?
The many-world theory implies that for each possible event exists an alternative universe, a "possibility" where this event either took place or not. From there, an infinite number of "possibilities" can be born. However, the actual number of such "possibilities" can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The precise number of "possibilities" is seven.
Each "possibility" existed separately from another. Then, one day, when the skies became red, those "possibilities" started to collapse one by one. The first one to fall was the "human possibility," populated entirely by the human species.. People from the "human possibility" survived by escaping to other universe, but even then, all their efforts amounted to nothing.
The next one to fall was the "animal possibility" where the many variations of beastmen reigned supreme. As the endless blue above their heads turned crimson, they, too, decided to leave their home in order to survive and prolong their existence for another day.
With every collapse, the time of peace grew shorter. Soon, the survivors had realized that there were no way to escape… other than the one they would create with their own hands.
In a dark, manmade room, the flickering light that came from an array of exotic devices illuminated the faces of two men. One was in his early thirties, but the light stubble on his chin and the exhausted look in his eyes made him look far older. He was wearing what looked like a fancier version of a white lab coat.
"Are you sure? Pardon the skepticism, my friend, but what you say is, simply put, completely outrageous. It is, after all, common knowledge that there are only seven "possibilities." No more, no less. I'm sure we would've contacted residents of this universe by now, otherwise."
Another man was different. His metallic carapace reflected the flickering lights. Adjusting a pair of glasses with his talon-like fingers, what could be best described as a bipedal dragon spoke.
"Well, if you want to be so pedantic, the only reason we think there are only seven "possibilities" is because their residents were the only ones who managed to evacuate into the Boundary City before the eventual Multiverse Collapse. The actual number might be different."
"Details," the man refuted with a brisk wave of his hand.
"True," the dragon-man admitted. "But what I actually meant by that is a completely different matter. You see, the "zeroth possibility" I was speaking of can be also be called the "possibility of abstractions." Rather than another separate universe filled with details unique to this particular "possibility," it is more of a… Let's call it a template."
"A template?"
"Da. A template," the dragon-man said energetically. "As you know, every "possibility" has a set of absolute truths unique to this universe. Things like the elemental laws of physics and such. With our advanced knowledge, we know an object's behavior is heavily dependent on the set of absolute rules it obeys. However…"
"However?" parroted the man, raising an eyebrow.
"There are certain things that remain unchanged, no matter what "possibility" we're observing. For example, the concept of "life." All "possibilities" managed to produce creatures we can consider to be "life." Even if you're an organic lifeform and I was manufactured, there's no doubt that both of us "live" and "exist," right?"
"Just because some things ended up the same doesn't actually mean your "abstract thingamajig" actually exists. Maybe, it's simply a coincidence," the man said.
"Well, it's an interesting thing to ponder about," the dragon-man shrugged. "What if all our universes originate from something greater? I'm sure that, should the answer to this question be yes, our city would become a far more peaceful place. At the very least, we would stop trying to backstab each other at every given opportunity."
"Fat chance," the man chuckled. "If your "possibility of abstractions" actually exists, "a man is a wolf to another man" would one of the first things on the list. Just under "hypocrisy" and right before "do harm." This is what humans all about, after all."
"A man is a wolf to another man, you say," noted the man's colleague. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't know?" the man asked only to receive a short nod. Scratching his chin, he tried to think of an answer. "Well, that basically means that… People can be cruel to other people… I think."
"Oh," the dragon-man said. "I don't think you should ever tell the department manager this proverb, then. He doesn't like it when humans like you make fun of him, after all."
"You can say that," the man frowned. "For a person holding the title of a "Wizard Sage," his fuse is short as hell."
"How about you stop irritating him so much? Honestly, I find the antagonism between the two of you rather pointless. No to mention counter-productive."
"Well, I ain't apologizing for doing my damn job."
"As I thought."
For a few minutes, the two men keep their silence, looking at the devices and taking occasional sips from their mugs. There's nothing else to do, anyway.
"Man, this sucks," the man said loudly. "All we do here is sitting on our butts all day and waiting for someone to wake up from their slumber. Which, let me remind you, happens about four times a month. At best."
"You say that, but weren't you one of them once?" the metallic dragon said, pointing at what looked like a coffin. In fact, the entire room was filled with those coffin-like objects. "It takes time to adjust to the City's distinct wavelengths. And once this process is done, you're basically thrown into a completely different world without any preparations. Makes sense they call it a Second Birth, right?"
"I thought they call it that because you're butt-naked on arrival."
"How vulgar," the dragon-man sighed.
"But not untrue," the man cackled.
"Oh, hush you…"
Silently, you listened to them bicker. Finally, you opened your eyes, raising a deafening alarm.
You are a…
[] Man
[] Woman
Before the skies fell and the world was destroyed, you were…
[] A soldier.
[] A scientist.
[] A lottery winner.
The many-world theory implies that for each possible event exists an alternative universe, a "possibility" where this event either took place or not. From there, an infinite number of "possibilities" can be born. However, the actual number of such "possibilities" can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The precise number of "possibilities" is seven.
Each "possibility" existed separately from another. Then, one day, when the skies became red, those "possibilities" started to collapse one by one. The first one to fall was the "human possibility," populated entirely by the human species.. People from the "human possibility" survived by escaping to other universe, but even then, all their efforts amounted to nothing.
The next one to fall was the "animal possibility" where the many variations of beastmen reigned supreme. As the endless blue above their heads turned crimson, they, too, decided to leave their home in order to survive and prolong their existence for another day.
With every collapse, the time of peace grew shorter. Soon, the survivors had realized that there were no way to escape… other than the one they would create with their own hands.
In a dark, manmade room, the flickering light that came from an array of exotic devices illuminated the faces of two men. One was in his early thirties, but the light stubble on his chin and the exhausted look in his eyes made him look far older. He was wearing what looked like a fancier version of a white lab coat.
"Are you sure? Pardon the skepticism, my friend, but what you say is, simply put, completely outrageous. It is, after all, common knowledge that there are only seven "possibilities." No more, no less. I'm sure we would've contacted residents of this universe by now, otherwise."
Another man was different. His metallic carapace reflected the flickering lights. Adjusting a pair of glasses with his talon-like fingers, what could be best described as a bipedal dragon spoke.
"Well, if you want to be so pedantic, the only reason we think there are only seven "possibilities" is because their residents were the only ones who managed to evacuate into the Boundary City before the eventual Multiverse Collapse. The actual number might be different."
"Details," the man refuted with a brisk wave of his hand.
"True," the dragon-man admitted. "But what I actually meant by that is a completely different matter. You see, the "zeroth possibility" I was speaking of can be also be called the "possibility of abstractions." Rather than another separate universe filled with details unique to this particular "possibility," it is more of a… Let's call it a template."
"A template?"
"Da. A template," the dragon-man said energetically. "As you know, every "possibility" has a set of absolute truths unique to this universe. Things like the elemental laws of physics and such. With our advanced knowledge, we know an object's behavior is heavily dependent on the set of absolute rules it obeys. However…"
"However?" parroted the man, raising an eyebrow.
"There are certain things that remain unchanged, no matter what "possibility" we're observing. For example, the concept of "life." All "possibilities" managed to produce creatures we can consider to be "life." Even if you're an organic lifeform and I was manufactured, there's no doubt that both of us "live" and "exist," right?"
"Just because some things ended up the same doesn't actually mean your "abstract thingamajig" actually exists. Maybe, it's simply a coincidence," the man said.
"Well, it's an interesting thing to ponder about," the dragon-man shrugged. "What if all our universes originate from something greater? I'm sure that, should the answer to this question be yes, our city would become a far more peaceful place. At the very least, we would stop trying to backstab each other at every given opportunity."
"Fat chance," the man chuckled. "If your "possibility of abstractions" actually exists, "a man is a wolf to another man" would one of the first things on the list. Just under "hypocrisy" and right before "do harm." This is what humans all about, after all."
"A man is a wolf to another man, you say," noted the man's colleague. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You don't know?" the man asked only to receive a short nod. Scratching his chin, he tried to think of an answer. "Well, that basically means that… People can be cruel to other people… I think."
"Oh," the dragon-man said. "I don't think you should ever tell the department manager this proverb, then. He doesn't like it when humans like you make fun of him, after all."
"You can say that," the man frowned. "For a person holding the title of a "Wizard Sage," his fuse is short as hell."
"How about you stop irritating him so much? Honestly, I find the antagonism between the two of you rather pointless. No to mention counter-productive."
"Well, I ain't apologizing for doing my damn job."
"As I thought."
For a few minutes, the two men keep their silence, looking at the devices and taking occasional sips from their mugs. There's nothing else to do, anyway.
"Man, this sucks," the man said loudly. "All we do here is sitting on our butts all day and waiting for someone to wake up from their slumber. Which, let me remind you, happens about four times a month. At best."
"You say that, but weren't you one of them once?" the metallic dragon said, pointing at what looked like a coffin. In fact, the entire room was filled with those coffin-like objects. "It takes time to adjust to the City's distinct wavelengths. And once this process is done, you're basically thrown into a completely different world without any preparations. Makes sense they call it a Second Birth, right?"
"I thought they call it that because you're butt-naked on arrival."
"How vulgar," the dragon-man sighed.
"But not untrue," the man cackled.
"Oh, hush you…"
Silently, you listened to them bicker. Finally, you opened your eyes, raising a deafening alarm.
You are a…
[] Man
[] Woman
Before the skies fell and the world was destroyed, you were…
[] A soldier.
[] A scientist.
[] A lottery winner.
- Location
- SV's Only Complete Persona Quest
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[x] Woman
[x] A scientist.
[x] A scientist.
[X] Woman
[X] A lottery winner.
[X] A lottery winner.